New World Cacophony
by SiFi270
Summary: Ragyo's defeat was certainly a victory to be celebrated, but not everyone came out of it completely rid of their problems. Some of them even needed therapy after what they'd experienced, but one of them turned it down. It's been over a decade since then, and something lurking in Mako's mind is threatening to break out after being repressed for so long.
1. Chapter 1

While Ragyo Kiryuin's defeat was an overwhelming victory for all those involved, there were still issues to be resolved when it was all over. In order to live a normal and happy life afterward, both Ryuko Matoi and her sister Satsuki needed to consult a therapist to sort out all the issues the experience had left them with, some of which were relatively recent while others had haunted them for much of their life.

But when the sessions were finally over, both were able to properly enjoy the happy ending they'd earned with the people they loved. Ryuko soon moved to Osaka with her girlfriend Mako Mankanshoku, the latter because she'd enjoyed her first visit so much, and the former so she could help with the efforts to rebuild. It was a life they were both incredibly grateful for, but over time, new problems became apparent.

It began inauspiciously enough. There were some nights when Mako would wake up with a start, but upon seeing Ryuko lying next to her, she would dismiss what she had just experienced as a nightmare and go back to sleep. Ryuko only occasionally saw this, as she was asleep when much of it happened, and whenever she was, Mako would never discuss it the following morning. Even if she was awake to see it, Mako would insist that there was nothing for her to worry about, and the matter would soon be dropped. But after a brief period of calm, things only got worse…

* * *

One night, Mako woke up looking far worse for wear than she normally would after a nightmare. To be more specific, she had gone from lying down to sitting upright with speed like lightning while her body was drenched in a cold sweat. Ryuko was quickly awakened by the sound of her screams, and while her first instinct was to try and comfort her somehow, she was taken by surprise when Mako lashed out of her, sending her tumbling out of the bed and onto the floor.

"Mako!" She cried. "Mako, what's wrong?"

Mako's response was frantic and incoherent, and the only words that Ryuko could make out were 'get out'. After another attempt to get close to her ended just as disastrously as the first, Ryuko decided there was only one person she could count on in this situation, and wasted no time in calling them.

Many miles away, Barazo Mankanshoku answered the phone irritably, ready to give whoever was calling a piece of his mind.

"What do you want?" He muttered.

"It's me!" Ryuko said. "There's no time to explain! Come as soon as you can!"

Recognizing the voice, the urgency, and above all, his daughter's screams, Barazo nodded and hung up, leaving as soon as he was dressed.

* * *

Unfortunately, Mako lived quite a distance from her family, which meant by the time Barazo got there, the situation was rather different to what he'd heard over the phone. Mako was now back to normal, and as a matter of fact, she was the one concerned for Ryuko, who was clearly exhausted both emotionally and physically, to say nothing of the bruises she now had.

As soon as she saw Barazo, Ryuko quickly explained what had happened both before and after the call, without missing a single detail. As she went on, his expression became more and more serious, and when she was finished, he offered his explanation.

"As a surgeon, this isn't exactly my department," he began. "But that doesn't mean I don't recognize this. The symptoms match those of a night terror, which is exactly what it sounds like: A nightmare, only worse. Unfortunately, the exact cause can be hard to determine, but that doesn't mean it can't be treated."

He went on to explain the methods, for which Ryuko couldn't thank him enough, but after he left, Mako still seemed unsure.

"I'm not really sure this will go away so easily," she said. "And I think I know why it's happening…"

"I'm listening," Ryuko said, eager for any answers she could get.

Mako nodded and cleared her throat. "It all started just before the final battle with Ragyo, while I was resting after helping you destroy the original life fiber. I was spending some time in my happy place, just in case it was the last time I'd ever see it, and at first it was just like it always was.

"But out of nowhere, someone showed up who wasn't supposed to be there… And I knew she was actually there… I wasn't imagining her…"

Ryuko's concern was growing with every moment. "Imagining _who_?"

Mako's answer was spoken barely above a whisper. "Nui Harime."

The name alone was enough to fill Ryuko with equal amounts of rage and dread. Nui Harime, the girl who killed her father, and from that moment onward did everything else in her power to make Ryuko's life a living hell. The thought that she could continue to haunt them to this day was, needless to say, not a pleasant one.

"I've been seeing her there ever since," Mako continued. "I can't tell any more if it's actually her or not. Back when I was having nightmares about this, waking up and seeing you would always calm me down, but you said you couldn't do that this time… and I don't even _remember_ it!" Without warning, she suddenly latched onto Ryuko and began sobbing. "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Ryuko!"

Ryuko sighed quietly as she stroked Mako's hair affectionately. "I'm the one who should be sorry," she said. "Even after everything you've done for me, I couldn't help you at a time like this…"

Mako suddenly lifted her head from Ryuko's shoulder. "Hold on there! You heard what my dad said. It's way too early to be saying that!"

Ryuko's eyebrows moved upward ever so slightly. "But you said…"

"I said I didn't think it would be easy," Mako said. "Ryuko…" She looked her in the eye. "...When has 'not easy' ever stopped us, or any of our friends?"

After a brief pause, Ryuko smiled at her. "...you're right. If you ever have the misfortune of seeing Nui in there again, tell her this:

"_Her days are numbered._"

* * *

A/N: I've been itching to write this since the second to last episode, but I had to wait until the very end to make sure I wouldn't contradict anything. Originally, life fibers were going to play a fairly large role, including a subplot where Satsuki and Nonon where planning to have a child using the same methods that created Nui. If not for how the series ended, it would have been that child that finally set Mako off, but alas, 'twas not meant to be.


	2. Chapter 2

In Ryuko and Mako's house, there was a bowl of lemons in the middle of the dining room table, so Ryuko could just take one and eat it if she was feeling hungry. Mako could always tell if Ryuko was nervous about something if she took a lemon, sat down at the table with it, and then after taking a single bite, simply stared at it for a while.

_Six hours,_ Mako thought as she peered through the doorway. _That's got to be a new record._

Neither of them had slept since the incident at 2am, but in Mako's case, it was impossible to tell just by looking at her. While she personally felt that it would be best if she stayed awake for as long as she possibly could, she didn't want Ryuko to have to endure the same burden.

"You know," she said, "I'll be fine if you go back to bed. You really look like you need it."

After looking up at her, Ryuko stood up and threw away the lemon. "I guess. But don't hesitate to wake me if you need anything, okay?"

"Gotcha." Mako smiled warmly as she watched her climb into bed.

* * *

Just as she expected, Ryuko's dreams were far from pleasant, but she had no doubt that it was nothing compared to what Mako was going through. All she would remember from what she dreamt was Nui appearing and taunting her, and Ryuko attacking her with no visible effect. She couldn't even remember a basic summary of the taunts she heard, only that they made her feel a dread she hadn't felt since before the real Nui's death.

To her relief, Ryuko also didn't know how the dream would have interrupted, thanks to a very unexpected (but far from unwelcome) interruption.

* * *

"Ryuko!" Mako rushed into the bedroom and leapt onto the bed, landing on Ryuko. "Ryuko, I just had the best idea again!"

Ryuko was unable to reply, not due to the sudden pressure on her body, which she was easily tough enough to withstand, but because she still wasn't completely awake yet.

"You remember when Satsuki made a hole in you and I jumped in the hole and I ended up in your head?"

Ryuko raised an eyebrow. "That story gets weirder every time you tell it."

"It doesn't get any further from the truth though!" Mako grinned. "Anyway, I was thinking we could try that again so this time _you_ could go in _my_ head and we could solve the problem that way!"

A smile began to grow on Ryuko's face, but it disappeared almost immediately when she noticed the flaw in the plan. With a sigh, she delivered the bad news.

"Mako," she said. "That was only possible because we had life fibers. There's no way we can do this without them."

Mako simply giggled. "Then it's a good thing they're not completely gone then, isn't it?"

Under most circumstances, the only idea worse than reminding Ryuko that there were no more life fibers was reminding her that, thanks to Ragyo experimenting on her as a child, her body was infused with life fibers and she was therefore the last of her kind. But on this occasion, the reminder served as a beacon of light in a cloudy sky, although there was still some doubt.

"I'm not an expert," she said, "but I'm still not sure it'll be that simple…"

"Well I'm not an expert either!" Mako's smile refused to disappear. "So let's go ask one!"

Ryuko soon mirrored her smile. Sometimes, Mako's optimism and brilliance were truly enviable. She often tried to tell her this, but somehow, it always came out as a kiss instead. Afterwards, Ryuko would quickly decide that telling her wasn't that important in the first place.

* * *

With the threat of life fibers being gone for the time being, the only real reason Nudist Beach hadn't shut down was in case of an unexpected return. Although it was estimated that if they ever did return, it would be many generations later, they had no way of being sure, and as such were on constant standby.

When Ryuko and Mako showed up completely unannounced, with both of them looking fairly nervous, the group was already a single syllable of bad news away from panic. Fortunately, Mako was quickly able to convince them that, while there was no sign of an invasion, she still needed their help. Along with Ryuko, she explained the situation just as quickly.

"Let me tell you two useful pieces of information," said Tsumugu. "One: It's entirely possible, and actually quite easy, to do what you've just described. Two: While nobody here is qualified to make the necessary preparations, the people who are happen to be just a call away."

"Great to hear," Ryuko said. "So who are they?"

* * *

When Barazo was explaining how to treat night terrors to Mako and Ryuko, he was easily able to see the growing doubt on his daughter's face, and as a result left their house feeling somewhat useless. This was why, when Nudist Beach called and said there was far more he could do to help, he was positively delighted.

Meanwhile, Shiro Iori received the same call, and was just as happy to offer his services. It was certainly true that he wasn't as close to Ryuko and Mako as some other people, but if anyone who could handle life fibers in an operation as delicate as this one, it was him.

"This shouldn't be too difficult for either of you," Aikuro said. "I trust you both brought the necessary equipment?"

Barazo proudly displayed a sedative, a scalpel, and some steri-strips, while Shiro simply nodded. Recognizing that everything would soon be ready, Ryuko and Mako lay down on a pair of parallel tables that were just a few inches apart.

While Mako didn't usually have a problem with needles, the thought of going back to sleep still worried her, even if it was the first step towards being completely rid of that problem. In order to reassure herself, she turned her head in Ryuko's direction and saw her smiling face, which was a sight that never failed to calm her. She barely even felt the needle entering her arm, and her serene smile as she fell asleep managed to put Ryuko at ease in spite of her strong phobia of needles.

Once they were sound asleep, Barazo took the scalpel and made a careful incision in each girl's forearm, allowing Shiro to find a single strand of life fiber, pull it out, and safely insert one end into Mako's bloodstream. Finally, Barazo used the steri-strips to keep the wounds sealed while allowing them to be re-opened when necessary.

Finally, their work was done, and all they could do was sit down and hope for the best. It was going to be a long, nerve-wracking wait, but waiting was all they could do.

* * *

A/N: This is what you wanted when you asked for hurt/comfort right?


	3. Chapter 3

After over a decade, Mako was easily able to recognize the calm before the storm. The many friends in her head could feel it too. Any minute now Nui was going to show up, first as a giant looming over the sky before appearing among them at her normal size. It was only a matter of time now…

_...where is she?_

Because of how long and how consistently this had been happening, it was was initially difficult for Mako to come up with an explanation for why it wasn't, but eventually an answer hit her, and it hit her quite painfully.

"...Ryuko!"

* * *

Ryuko was hopelessly lost upon entering Mako's head, so as soon as she heard Mako's voice calling her name, she was at the very least relieved to have a direction to go in. She wasn't sure how long she ran in that direction for, but eventually she reached Mako and felt relieved for the first time since she'd entered this place.

"Ryuko!" Mako repeated. "Am I glad I found you! This is around the time that she shows up, so it's best if we stick together." She offered her hand, and Ryuko accepted it.

As they walked together, Ryuko had a funny feeling she couldn't quite shake. Nothing looked wrong, but something definitely _felt_ wrong, and Mako seemed completely unaware of this somehow. She briefly wondered if it was the silence between them that was making her feel this way, and decided to test this by making conversation.

"So where are those friends you mentioned?" She asked. "Did something happen to them?"

Mako shrugged apathetically, and Ryuko's feelings of unease soon returned. "I just grew out of them," she said casually. "You can't hold on to your imaginary friends forever, right?" She turned towards Ryuko and winked.

And just like that, Ryuko's fears were confirmed. Mako had always objected when the friends in her head were referred to as 'imaginary', not because she stubbornly believed them to be real, but because, by her own personal definition, imaginary friends had a presence of sorts outside one's head, while the friends friends in her head stayed in there. The logic behind it was questionable, but on this particular occasion it proved that something was very wrong with Mako.

Of course, even if she hadn't caught on to that, Ryuko still would have realized it when she noticed that 'Mako's' eye hadn't reopened since she winked, which, when combined with her facial expression and the simple (yet seemingly impossible to imitate) way she was now moving, she began to look disturbingly familiar…

"I just blew my cover, didn't I?" She said casually, her form finally matching Nui's. "That's okay, I wasn't trying that hard to begin with." She instantly grabbed Ryuko with one arm and covered her mouth with the other before phasing into the clouds below them and disappearing.

* * *

When Nui and Ryuko finally re-emerged, they were in a dark, seemingly abandoned place that Ryuko was surprised could exist in Mako's mind. The two were on opposite sides of a seemingly infinite barrier, with circumstances making it quite clear that Nui was on the right side, and Ryuko on the wrong side.

"This is the back of Mako's mind," Nui said. "It's a place for things she's forgotten, or things she couldn't care less about… Or, you know, whatever I feel like imprisoning here." She giggled. "Don't worry, it's only temporary. Once I've found a way to trap Mako in the back of your mind, I'll free you, and you'll be mine forever, like it was always meant to be!"

Ryuko roared inarticulately as she aggressively slammed her entire body against the barrier. Over her anger, she only barely felt a sensation not entirely unlike an electric shock as she the barrier briefly stuck to her before throwing her to the ground again.

"Good to see you're getting the stupidest ideas out of the way first," Nui laughed. "Give me a shout when you're finally ready to accept what's happening!" She playfully kissed the barrier, then turned and walked away as she whistled loudly to herself.

Ryuko didn't even bother lifting herself from the ground again. There were two options in regards to what she could do next: She could plan, or she could lie there crying for a while. And at the moment, the latter seemed more appealing.

* * *

Mako hadn't seen anything happen for a long time now and she could still tell that things were getting worse by the moment. Although her friends remained oblivious, she couldn't think of a way to explain it to them, even when it became clear to them that something was upsetting her.

"We've been wandering for such a long time," she murmured to herself. "And I used to know this place so well…"

It took quite a lot to make Mako Mankanshoku upset. While the slightest provocation could make her burst into tears, far more was required to make her _upset_. It was just as difficult to make her feel useless, since, if nothing else, she knew she was a constant source of morale for Ryuko in the most difficult of situations. But now, in a place where she should technically be a god, she was nothing. Slowly, she sank to her knees, insisting that her friends go on without her. When they refused, she made no further effort to persuade them, instead choosing to stare blankly at the clouds beneath her. As with many things she did, it would have been rather difficult to distract her from it, but Nui easily managed when she appeared in the sky and started laughing at her.

"Forgotten something, Mako?" She smiled innocently. "I'll leave you to figure it out then. There's no way I'd know what it is you're forgetting, would I? Anyway, I've got places to be. Toodles!"

Mako silently hoped this meant that Nui would now be leaving her head and bothering someone else. Which it did, but that was no reason to be relieved. If Mako could even guess who Nui would be visiting next, she'd have made far more of an effort to stop her.

* * *

Back when Ryuko's father was still alive, he gave her quite a lot of pieces of advice, but there was only one she really listened to: _Wherever you're going in life, don't lose your way._

_Well I've been doing a_ tremendous _job of that,_ she thought. _Ever since coming here, I've lost my way so many times it'd be a miracle if I even found that infinitely huge barrier again. Hell, it'd be a miracle if I found _anything_ again._

"Are… are you…?"

Ryuko quickly turned towards the source of the voice, but nothing could prepare her for what she saw.

"What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Ryuko's eyes narrowed. "It's not seeing a ghost that surprises me. It's seeing my _own_ ghost that's the problem."

"Oh…" she said. "Oh! I guess you don't know who I am, do you?" She smiled and waved at her. "I'm Mako's inner-Ryuko. It's an honor to meet you!"

* * *

A/N: I was tempted to have Gamagoori show up in the back of Mako's mind. Ryuko would have found him and said 'did Nui imprison you here too?', and he would have just shrugged and said 'nah, I've just always kind of been here'.


	4. Chapter 4

Once Nui had confirmed that Ryuko was at the back of Mako's mind in a more traditional sense, she wasted no time in initiating the next part of her plan. She quickly returned to Mako's location, and with the element of surprise on her side, she was easily able to grab her and take her wherever she pleased.

Luckily, she didn't actually know where that was.

"So how do I get out of here?" She said, badly feigning politeness. "Or, if it's any easier to answer, how did Ry…" She hastily covered her mouth, making sure her other hand kept a firm grip on Mako. Evidently, making sure Ryuko stayed forgotten was going to be harder than she thought.

"Okay, never mind," she said calmly. "Just show me the way out of here and we'll be out soon enough."

Mako simply nodded, wanting this to end as soon as possible.

* * *

"So…" Ryuko continued to stare at Mako's inner-her. "_Why_ are you a ghost?"

"Because I don't have a physical body!" Inner-Ryuko said cheerfully. "Sadly this also keeps me from properly wearing Inner-Senketsu, but…"

"Hold the phone!" Ryuko quickly resisted the urge to grab her for fear of phasing through her and falling on her face. "Inner-Senketsu?"

And just by looking at her, she was able to confirm: Inner-Senketsu. Even after he'd died, she'd often been wearing him in her dreams, so it made sense to her that, while in a dream-like state, she'd take the sight of herself wearing him for granted. Especially when she was distracted by other traits, such as being a ghost.

"So he just needs to be worn by someone with a physical body? Well we're in luck. All we need to do is swap outfits."

For a moment, Inner-Ryuko was unable to comply, due to her being too shocked that this idea hadn't occurred to her. But she soon remembered that time was of the essence, and helped her real counterpart put the plan into action.

* * *

"This must be it!" Nui stopped at what looked like a vortex made from life fibers. "We just need to go in, and soon you'll be rid of me forever!"

Mako stood in place, not noticing when Nui was trying to drag her along. "Why do I need to go in? I don't even know what's on the other side. Come to think of it, do you even know what's on the other side?"

Nui refused to provide an answer, which quickly proved to be a mistake when it got the gears in Mako's head turning. First, she wondered if she should already know the answers to her questions, which lead to the realization that she should at least know what was on the other side, since that was the whole point of…

_Why am I here to begin with?_ She wondered. _I remember not wanting to fall asleep, but… why? It was something to do with night terrors… but I didn't even remember that at the time. What was it I was worried about?_

Nui pulled more forcefully, but it was too late; Mako was now rooted to the spot.

_I don't think it was me I was worried about… The first time it happened, I hurt someone… That must be who I'm doing this for! It's… it's coming back to me! I'm connected to that person right now, so on the other side of that portal, is… is…_

Moments later, Nui heard the last thing she was hoping to hear at that moment.

"_Ryuko!_"

* * *

Before that name was spoken, the duo of person and ghost it referred to were having a difficult time. While they had managed to find the barrier again, it remained impossible to break, even with the newfound strength that Inner-Senketsu provided. By this point, she'd lost all hope enough times for it to lose all meaning, and while she somehow knew it wouldn't last, that didn't make waiting for a new opportunity any less painful, especially when it was only a hunch that told her that opportunity would come at all.

They were both overcome with shock upon hearing Mako cry her name, and so they both decided to charge at the barrier one last time, not noticing it was gone until they passed the point where it once was. With Inner-Ryuko's knowledge of the place, they were soon able to find Mako again, and not a moment too soon.

"It's always _you_," Nui growled, her hands wrapped around Mako's neck. "No matter what happens to her, _you're_ always there to break her out of it! If _you_ weren't there, I could have won, just once! I could even have had a chance with her!"

"I'm gonna have to stop you right there."

Both girls looked at the two Ryukos.

"You could never, under any circumstances, have a chance with me," Outer-Ryuko said. "And yes, Mako's certainly the main reason for that. But even without her, there's so many more. Listing them would just be a waste of time, so I'll just choose one at random: You're my half sister."

Nui's grip faded, allowing Mako to fall down on the clouds below. She stuttered incoherently for a moment before her face contorted into a repulsive glare, at which point she leapt towards the two Ryukos while screaming indignantly. Outer-Ryuko was only able to catch her with Inner-Senketsu's help, and the same was true for every subsequent attack she blocked. She had no idea how much longer she could do this for, but things certainly weren't looking good. Soon, Inner-Ryuko decided to intervene, knowing she didn't stand a chance without a godrobe she couldn't even use to begin with. She threw a punch…

...and the next thing she knew, Nui was on the ground several feet away.

Inner-Ryuko stared incredulously at her hands. "This… this means…"

"_Nui Harime!_"

Nui cast a horrified glance towards the source of the sound, knowing upon hearing it that she'd lost.

"You've tormented me for years now," Mako continued, "but with Ryuko by my side, you're _nothing_!" She advanced towards her and glared. "Get up, I wanna hurt you some more."

Nui lay there and whimpered.

"I said _get up!_"

With another whimper, Nui lifted herself from the ground, only to immediately get knocked down again.

"That's for killing Ryuko's dad!" She pulled her up and repeated the process, with a new reason behind each strike.

"This is for turning Ryuko into a monster! This is for doing it twice! And this is for trying to make me forget her!"

Ryuko could only watch as Mako's attack intensified with each blow. Ten years of psychological torture, and when Nui was finally at her mercy, Mako was only concerned about what she'd done to Ryuko. It was almost enough to move her to tears.

_What did I do to deserve someone so selfless? I've got to thank her somehow… And I think I know a good place to start._

She walked over to Nui, taking her exhausted body from Mako and looking her in the eye.

"Ten years," she seethed. "Ten _fucking_ years you've been doing this to her. I had no idea until last night, but the signs have always been there. I should have done this a long time ago…" She brought her fist back for one last punch. "...now _get out!_"

Nui let out a banshee-like cry as she began to fade into nothingness. Even when she was completely gone, the screaming could still be heard, and while both Ryuko and Mako were disturbed by this at first, they knew somehow that it would soon be over.

And once it was, they were free.

* * *

A/N: Stay tuned for the epilogue.


	5. Chapter 5

Before they woke up, Mako insisted on introducing Ryuko to the friends in her head, and Ryuko couldn't think of a reason to refuse. The friends in question had easily been able to identify when they were no longer able to help, and had been watching in anticipation from that point onward.

"This is Pablo," Mako said, gesturing towards an elephant in a swimming cap and a singlet. "Pablo sprays rainbows out of his trunk, and bathing in them is a great way to relax."

Pablo smiled at them. "I'll show you some time if we get another chance like this."

Mako then moved on to a small yellow bird, though Ryuko wasn't able to determine anything more specific than that just by looking at it.

"This is Duke the Duck," Mako said. "One day she'll grow up to become a beautiful chicken! I mean, if she wants to."

Ryuko just had too many questions to ask even one.

"And this," Mako walked towards a group of small, happy stars, "is Bill Junior!"

Ryuko tilted her head. "Which one?"

"We're all Bill Junior!" They chorused. "...but you might find a Barry in here somewhere if you're lucky."

Ryuko soon concluded that confusion wasn't always measured in the number of questions one had, and even if she did have one to ask, no answer would have been able to completely rid her of her confusion.

"And last, but not least…" Mako stopped at a significantly larger star with a tongue far too long for Ryuko to even see where it ended. "...This is Bill Senior. He's constantly screaming."

Ryuko frowned. "...is that because of You-Know-Who, or…"

Mako giggled. "Nope! He's just always been like this. It _might_ be because the top of his head opens, but he never seems to object when I do open it."

Finally, Ryuko was able to voice one of her many questions. "What do you open it for?"

"So I can pour in Pablo's rainbows, of course!" Mako said. "That way, he can make more Bill Juniors, and let me tell you: There can never be enough Bill Junior!"

Ryuko suddenly had many suspicions in regards to why he was constantly screaming, but she was hesitant to share any of them. "I hate to say this," she said, "but we should probably be going. I don't know how long we've been asleep for, but your dad's probably worried sick all the same."

Mako gasped. "I totally forgot! I forgot about a lot of things, really… Yeah, let's go."

She waved to her friends, and Ryuko hesitantly waved with her. Although these meetings had been rather taxing on her poor brain, she hoped that she'd one day be able to see them again.

* * *

When Mako woke up, she was expecting to find her father watching expectantly over her, along with the others involved in this operation. This was why she was surprised to find her entire family waiting, as well as Satsuki, who was staring rather intently at Ryuko.

As Mako sat up, she barely managed a single syllable of greeting before her family was hugging her from every angle. She understood how they felt, and while it was certainly something she would have done in a similar situation, there was still a concern she needed to address, and once she'd gotten some space, she did so.

"Is Ryuko okay?" She asked, looking at her still-sleeping girlfriend. Satsuki turned towards Aikuro and looked meaningfully at him, making it clear the same question was on her mind.

"Give her time," he said. "Her consciousness still has to return from your body to her own. Speaking of which, please try not to move so much. If the connection were to be severed now, things wouldn't be pleasant."

Mako gulped at the implications and slowly lay back down again, her family giving her some more space. She knew this was exactly how they felt before she woke up, and even if she wouldn't be waiting for as long as they were, that didn't make her any less worried.

But finally, Ryuko's eyes opened slowly, and in a surprising display of patience, Mako was able to wait until the life fiber connecting them was safely re-inserted into Ryuko's arm before leaping towards her and hugging her. Ryuko calmly returned the hug, having no reason to be surprised by it under such circumstances, but she was surprised when she felt someone else's hand on her shoulder, and she only became more surprised when she saw who it was.

"I'm glad you're okay," Satsuki smiled down at her. "Both of you."

Ryuko just smiled back. It was rare to see her sister show this much affection, which made her appreciate it all the more when she did.

"Hey Satsuki!" Mako rolled off Ryuko and landed on the floor, but she didn't care. With the weight that had been lifted from her shoulders after so long, she had spent every moment so far feeling as though she were flying.

"Hello, Mankanshoku." Satsuki's smile shifted from gentle to formal. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"You're welcome to come over whenever you want," Ryuko said as she began to stand. "You could even help me rebuild the city, considering how it's your fault it needs rebuilding in the firs…"

"Ryuko," Mako said sternly. "Can we save this for another time?"

"Right…" Ryuko quickly broke eye contact with her sister. "Yeah, it was good to see you all again, but… we should be going now."

It certainly wasn't the best of notes to end their brief reunion on, especially considering how it was why the reunion was so brief to begin with. But by the time Ryuko and Mako got home, they were both in a much better mood, which lasted for the rest of the evening. Mako made her mother's trademark croquettes to celebrate, despite Ryuko's continued insistence on doing something for her. When they sat down to eat, Mako decided to ask why this was.

"Well…" Ryuko blushed slightly. "...while I was in your head, I got to see just how much you cared for me… And I found myself wondering just how much I deserved that. So I soon figured that tonight, I'll do something to deserve it."

For a moment, Mako was actually at a loss for words. When she was finally thinking straight again, she simply smiled at Ryuko.

"You always deserve it," she said. "Just for being Ryuko, you deserve everything I can offer you. Also, if it took you entering my mind to find out just how much I love you," she chuckled slightly, "then I really need to express it better!"

Again, Ryuko was close to tears. While she was certainly very strong, she had two major weaknesses, one of them being that she was allergic to rabbits, and the other being that she could never handle more affection than she was used to from people close to her. She made a great effort to hold in her tears, but she soon found she no longer needed to after what Mako said next.

"Although…" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "...If you still want to thank me, there is _something_ I have in mind…"

* * *

A/N: And then they spent the rest of the night playing board games.

...

After they had sex.


End file.
